Twitter has killed Politwoops, which kept an eye on politicians’ deleted tweets in 30 countries

Hm. Interesting conundrum. Should politicians’ tweets be subject to more scrutiny?

$TWTR defends elected officials’ right to delete… but I think we all know the Internet never forgets. Twitter is covering their bases here, since they need politicians (and everyone who’s anyone) using their service if they want to survive.

I see this as being closely related to the excellent site NewsDiffs.org—in that Politwoops was also keeping track of that which has been said, even if it’s later altered.

Twitter says:

Imagine how nerve-wracking – terrifying, even – tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another. Indeed, deleting a tweet is an expression of the user’s voice.

Open State Foundation director Arjan El Fassed says:

What elected politicians publicly say is a matter of public record. Even when tweets are deleted, it’s part of parliamentary history. These tweets were once posted and later deleted. What politicians say in public should be available to anyone. This is not about typos but it is a unique insight on how messages from elected politicians can change without notice.